This is a before & after photo of a little girl’s bedroom that she deemed “my Princess bedroom” when her parents surprised her with the paint job the day they moved in. The light blue was a Benjamin Moore flat paint & the pink was a satin finish to create subtle contrast. Everyone was really happy with how this turned out.

Primer is an important component of every paint job. It’s just as important as the paint itself. There are different primers for different applications and they can vary in price. For this particular job, two different primers were necessary. There were a lot of wood knots bleeding thru several layers of old paint on the woodwork and on the beams. To keep the knots from continuing to bleed through the new paint, Zinsser Odorless Oil Stain Blocking Primer was used. This is a fantastic product. It dries quickly and has the least amount of smell of any oil primer. It provides a great surface to apply the latex semi-gloss to. There was also a good bit of drywall patching that needed to be done before the paint job could be started. Once the patches were dry and then sanded, Benjamin Moore Fresh Start was applied. This primer will keep the patches from “flashing” through the new paint. Many painters will simply paint over drywall patches without priming them. If you are having someone repaint some drywall patches, always ask them if they plan on priming the patch first. If they don’t plan on it, insist on it, even at the extra cost. It creates a much better final paint job.

—

http://lancasterpapainting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/dslogo3.png00Davidhttp://lancasterpapainting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/dslogo3.pngDavid2015-11-29 20:58:012015-11-29 20:58:32Third Story Re-Paint, Lancaster; The Importance of Primer

We just completed this re-paint in Elizabethtown last week. The owner was a prior customer of ours and he had just purchased this house that needed a lot of cosmetic repairs. The house hadn’t been painted since it was built in 1992 and there were some nasty stains all over the place as well as a bunch of small drywall repairs. We re-painted everything – ceilings, walls, woodwork, the front door and the exterior railings. The photos above are only of the living room, but what you see there was pretty much how the whole house looked. Benjamin Moore Paints were used throughout. In a week and a half, quite a transformation took place. What a difference new paint can make!

We get several jobs a year like this and they are some of my favorites. I love working on renovations. This house was a small row-home in Mount Joy that the owner wanted to flip. It needed extensive drywall throughout. After the owner gutted most of the old wall paneling, we came and and re-drywalled everything in sight. He sold the property about 2 months after we completed the drywall portion of the project.

http://lancasterpapainting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/dslogo3.png00Davidhttp://lancasterpapainting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/dslogo3.pngDavid2015-11-10 10:31:532015-11-10 10:48:10Drywall in a House Flip. Mount Joy, PA

This drywall and painting project was done in Lancaster’s School Lane Hills Neighborhood. First, the old beat up plaster in this bathroom was skimmed with 3 coats of joint compound. Once it was sanded, Benjamin Moore Fresh Start Primer was applied to the drywall. The wainscot & woodwork was prepped meticulously and caulked with a silicon caulk that eliminates caulk cracks. After that, it was primed with Benjamin Moore Advance primer. The wainscot was finished with Benjamin Moore Advance Paint in a high gloss finish. The ceiling was painted with Benjamin Moore’s Ultra Flat Ceiling Paint and the walls were painted with Benjamin Moore Aura Matte Finish.

Painting this took several days but it was well worth the time and effort!

This is a common sight, particularly in older buildings. Paint almost always peels because there is moisture coming from the opposite side of the paint surface which causes it to lose its adhesion and then blister and peel. Before drywall patching and repainting can be done, the moisture issue will need to be addressed. In the instance pictured, there was a small roof leak that, over time, was causing this paint to peel. After the roof was repaired, this ceiling was enclosed with plastic to keep the paint chips and dust in a contained area. It was then cleaned up and 2 coats of 20 minute easy sand joint compound was applied. That was left to dry and a final coat of USG Dust Control Joint Compound was applied as a finish coat. It was then sanded and primed with Benjamin Moore Ultra Spec Primer. The final paint coats were Benjamin Moore Ultra Spec Flat White.

Azek and similar products are a great alternative to exterior wood. Azek is marketed as a no maintenance product; however it is best if Azek is painted. Cleaning and general maintenance will be smoother and easier if it is painted. I’ll do my best to keep this simple.

1. Clean the Azek surface thoroughly.

2. Scuff the Azek surface with sandpaper – I prefer 150 grit.

3. Fill any screw holes and caulk any transitions with an exterior Silicone caulk. This may take several hours to dry. Sand filler on holes to level.

4. Dust the Azek surface with a damp rag and allow to dry.

5. Prime the Azek with 100% acrylic exterior primer. My preference is Benjamin Moore Fresh Start Primer. It is an excellent product and will adhere wonderfully to the Azek surface.

6. Finish coat. Use a durable, high quality exterior paint. My preference is Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior (pictured). Always apply at least 2 coats for an even finish. Lightly sand the first coat with 150 or 180 grit paper before applying the second coat. It is likely in your best interest to NOT purchase paint from Lowe’s or Home Depot (Valspar or Behr Brands). These may be inexpensive but you get what you pay for.

This project was really fun. Above the new restaurant, Mulberry Social at the corner of James and Mulberry in the West End of Lancaster City, there are seven remodeled apartments. We were hired to do the drywall in all seven and to repaint several of them. Above, you can see some before, during and after photos while the project was in progress. We are really proud of this one.

There were over 60 sheets of 1/4″ drywall that we laid over very thick old texture & old paneling from the 70s or 80s to help create a new and modern feel. Other areas were either skimmed off or 1/2″ drywall was added to various ceilings and new walls. For the painting, we used Decorator’s White by Benjamin Moore on all surfaces. The woodwork was painted with high quality & durable Aura Semi-gloss.